Arab American Day Festival: party met with protest

Sept. 29, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Siham Mate, of Valencia, photographs herself with her 5-month-old daughter, Jasmine, during their visit to the 17th annual Arab American Day Festival in Garden Grove on Saturday. The festival is expected to draw about 30,000 to 40,000 people over its course. It ends Sunday. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The CIA hosted a well-manned recruitment booth at the 7th annual Arab American Day Festival Saturday in Garden Grove. The festival gets active at night when entertainers inspire all to dance. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Vendors sell their wares at the 17th annual Arab American Day Festival in Garden Grove which runs until Sunday. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Mohammad Ardelwahab tries to entice passers-by with his bubble gun. He was one of the toy vendors at the 17th annual Arab American Day Festival in Garden Grove Saturday. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Gypsy wares were on sale at the 17th annual Arab American Day Festival in Garden Grove Saturday. The event gets crowded at night when entertainers start the crowd dancing. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Additional Garden Grove police arrive Saturday at the 17th annual Arab American Day Festival. The event is expected to draw about 30,000 to 40,000 people over the weekend. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Omar Alkahezelh, a pizza chef with Pizza Paradise in Garden Grove, cooks up some chicken at the 17th annual Arab American Day Festival on Saturday. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Siham Mate, of Valencia, photographs herself with her 5-month-old daughter, Jasmine, during their visit to the 17th annual Arab American Day Festival in Garden Grove on Saturday. The festival is expected to draw about 30,000 to 40,000 people over its course. It ends Sunday.ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The festival that has become a staple in the tight-knit Orange County Arabic community for nearly 20 years has become a place of protest outside the event gates but inside, the party goes on.

By day, families play games, take their children on rides and peruse aisles of Middle Eastern cuisine and hookah tents at the Arab American Day Festival in Garden Grove.

When night falls, music will overwhelm the venue on Main Street, a dance party will ensue and, according to some, the protests will begin.

Friday night drew heated controversy outside the gates between festival-goers and a group carrying signs disparaging the prophet Muhammad and passing out Bibles.

Police said no arrests were made Friday and about 30 officers were at the festival on Saturday, the night expected to draw the largest crowds.

Festival organizer and founder Ahmad Alam said the protesters stood with a microphone and signs yelling anti-Islamic sayings. One of the signs reportedly used a phrase from the anti-Muslim movie that has sparked riots at U.S. embassies across the world and resulted in the death of a U.S. ambassador and several others.

But Alam said this is nothing he hasn't seen before.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Alam said the festival has seen its share of anti-Muslim groups outside their festival.

"Our people are used to this," he said.

Mo Alam, who runs a booth promoting his bakery in Little Arabia said he was aware of what goes on outside the gates.

"It was no problem," he said of the Friday night protests. "It's just words."

The festival has been a part of the community for 17 years, and it was created to promote unity within the Arabic community, Ahmad Alam said. Celebrating Arabic roots intertwined with American culture has been the theme of the three-day event that draws more than 30,000 people every year.

That unity has recently been challenged after some allege Alam's supports the Assad regime in Syria, which is responsible for more than 30,000 deaths, according to published reports.

In March 2011, protests that called for political reform and criticized Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rule were met with violence from Syrian government forces.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled to other countries and the number of people being tortured, kidnapped or killed continues to rise, according to published reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A group of Orange County residents said they planned to descend on the festival Saturday night because they believe Alam and others involved in the festival have been against the revolution and shown support for al-Assad in his Anaheim-based Arabic newspaper.

"As long as (the festival) is attracting people, protesters will come out in big force," said Tustin resident Vicki Tamoush.

But some in the festival say a community event is no place for politics or religion; they just want to have a good time.

"This (festival) is good," said Fullerton resident Manoli Oweis. "No protests. It should be about peace."

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